Stop kidding around will ya!
Today I was going to pretend that I had come up with a way to get Domino running with Apache and to comply to XHTML standards. Here was the proof. Note the Domino header in the source and the .nsf URL!
Then I thought that maybe Friday's practical joke was enough for one week. Sure you all know what happened to the boy who cried wolf one too many times ;o)
Anyway the reason I am spoofing .nsf URLs is to see whether it's feasible to switch CodeStore from Domino to PHP. The main reason not to would be that there are endless links and bookmarks pointing to things like /A55692/store.nsf/unid/EPSD-5DTT4L etc. These would all break and I would have broken one of the golden rules of the internet. However, in Apache's .htaccess file you can add the the following line:
AddType application/x-httpd-php .nsf
So, any files ending in .nsf are treated the same as a .php file. All I have to do then is add a PHP file called store.nsf in a directory called A55692 and I can handle/redirect all these links. Brilliant. A simple example:
http://www.jakehowlett.com/A55692/store.nsf/unid/EPSD-5EQPZA
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Why?
Re: Why?
Which bit of Jake's blog passed you by?
Anyway the reason I am spoofing .nsf URLs is to see whether it's feasible to switch CodeStore from Domino to PHP...
Heres my attempt at an XHTML 1.0 Strict compliant domino site.
swapcode.com
Currently broken in Mozilla. I think its something to do with the styles sheets.
I must say, I admire your commitment not to break old URLs. This explains why codestore's nsf is still in a folder called A55692. I had previously wondered why you use this folder, I know it was once 'your' folder on a Prominic shared server because that's what I've got, mine's A55924! But I noticed your css files are in a directory off the root of the domain name, so I knew you must have upgraded from the shared package to something bigger and better.
In a way, it seems a shame to keep the A55692 now you're not forced to. But I do admire this policy of perserving URLs forever. Broken links suck.
Search engine robots seem to reindex quite quickly, and so it doesn't seem to be a problem with their indexes. It's just for people's links to individual articles etc. then. If everyone treated the web like you do (craving and implementing valid XHTML wherever possible, CSSing div elements instead of using tables for layout, using complaint technology like SVG instead of flash, preserving URLs indefinitely, etc.) the web would be a better place. Your work is an example to us beginners, and these standards are ones I try to set for my own work. Class.
Darin - Because!
John Z - nice!
Tone - I still am on a shared server. If you place files in the domino/html directory their path doesn't include the A55692 bit.
I am not going to "keep" this part of the URL I am just going to have *one* file called store.nsf in this direcotry so that any visitors to old addresses know where to go from there. The new version will have no A55692 in it. Thank god!
So links to something like http://www.codestore.net/A55692/store.nsf/unid/EPSD-5DTT4L will die after all?
Because is not a answer. I was wondering if you would have a real business reason to switch a Domino based site to PHP.
No. I will write some PHP logic in the store.nsf fake PHP file to work out what it's a link to (document, view, comment etc) amd take them there after a short message. Did you read the blog ;o)
"Because" may not be an answer Darin but only in the same way "Why?" is not a question. Read what I've been talking about for the past month or so if you really want to know.
CodeStore's is a hobby and not a business so I don't really a business reason.
Why Change to PHP? I have been reading what you say like:
From: 25th August
And just a hobby?
From: 9th September
Has something changed?
Just wondering if the great resource that you are providing will go away, but it is your choice.
Okay, good point. Maybe it is more than a hobby in a way. But, as you can see from the second quote, I do NOT intend to get rid of codestore. No need to worry.
Regarding the transfer to PHP. My mind has changed since I've been thinking about it more and more. Domino is just too limiting (please don't argue this point with me, can't be bothered to).
But Jake's not stopping the site... he's just saying that he may change the underlying architecture to a PHP-based one, a possibility open to him now that he's figured out a possible way of keeping all his links... If the links were going to get broken, then he wasn't going to do it.
Also, if he's not stopping the site, then he's not stopping this "showcase" for his talents, which has helped him get contracts in the past.
So there we go. Or am I totally wrong?
You might also want to look at Apache's mod_rewrite. It lets you rewrite URLs into other URLs on the fly. For example you could have a translation so that:
/articles/5.html
is rewritten to:
/articles.php?id=5
This means you have "neat" URLs and it's much nicer for Search Engines. Also if you change the underlying technology (eg. if I went from PHP to say JSPs) you'd only need to change the rewrite rules.
I've been making a living out of Notes and Domino for a few years now and about a year ago I was exposed to PHP polling at a site in Canberra. I thought nothing more of it until I needed a viable solution for my new place in Sydney. Notes couldn't cut it. So I have revisited PHP and found the solutions I require. PHP has a lot going for it. I had never used it before and with a couple of hours work I had an Apache server and Domino server running (hand in hand) on my Windows XP PC. PHP and mySQL were up and running and I was to able to evaluate the polling and survey apps that I downloaded. I found it frighteningly workable to understand most of what the PHP code was doing despite not having used it before and I was able to modify code to suit my purposes. Lots and lots of people are putting lots and lots stuff out there in the shareware arena, sharing stuff, getting feedback, making money, etc. It's a really vibrant and enticing community. Notes and Domino have put on the cardigan, zipped up the slippers and settled down for a good night in front of the TV in comparison. I can see why Domino doesn't support the use of PHP - it's a serious, in your face competitor. I am hanging out for my current project to finish so that I can get some PHP up at work and convince the boss this is a viable and valuable component to add to our intranet. Go for it Jake, it's a good move.
"...it's a serious, in your face competitor..."
I wouldn't say this. PHP is in a different league to notes! it's not competeing with it. PHP is for people who want that extra control, where as Notes is a great tool for the everyday user and companies who need to provide database driven websites, and get them out there cheaper and quicker.
If anyones scrared off by PHP then they should give ASP a whack, it's got just as much power as PHP (though probably slightly less - just to contradict myself) but it's uses the VBScript language that you'd be familiar with when programming agents.
Although if you really want to learn this stuff then you can't go wrong with PHP, there's just so many free applcations people have made (Galleries, Forums etc.) and thousands of great resources.
A practical standpoint: I run a small Internet site that runs on Domino, the hosting options available are pretty expensive and inflexible. You can pay $600 a year and be forced into a directory structure, no ability to change the NAB etc. More advanced options with greater flexibility are more expensive still. The equivalent PHP hosting package is 90% cheaper at about $60 a year. Sure I could pay $1000 plus for a dedicated server but that's a lot of money just to give stuff away. If push came to shove I would certainly change to PHP. That might be because I wanted more flexibility or because I couldn't afford to run it anymore, which I suppose is a "business" decision for anyone.
Mike Golding
http://www.notestips.com